Let It Ring
by Cerulean Pen
Summary: It's so broken inside…a Finn/Amanda, Finn/Charlene, and Jez/Maybeck story, told in fragments…


Let It Ring

Summary: It's so broken inside…a Finn/Amanda, Finn/Charlene, and Jez/Maybeck story, told in fragments…

English Romance/Angst Rated: T Chapters:1 Words:

**Pairings: **Wow…a lot…Finn/Amanda, minor-ish, Finn/Charlene, Maybeck/Jez, with your regular hinted Willa/Philby. Warning, this story is a little angsty, but no character death. =)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Keepers, sadly.

[No one picks up the phone when she calls.]

0o0

She stares at her hands when they ask her questions, just endless observation of her palms, the slightly wrinkled flesh beneath her thumbs, the white crescent moon on her nails, how long her life line is compared to her stubby love line. No one (especially him) cares, and no one will call her, except for them, a couple married too young.

"Do you regret not speaking?" Willa whispers once Philby has left to fetch their bags from the car, as Charlene rests her elbows on the tables, before placing her palms over her eyes, eyelashes tickling the bare flesh. Willa breaths, her fingers delicately run over Charlene's blond hair, so real, so comforting, something she wanted so badly, but not from her. "Is it painful?"

(Obvious question, Miss College Professor.)

"Not all the time; sometimes I'm numb," she murmurs, bitterly, standing up so suddenly, the chair falls backwards, her bare feet slap against the linoleum tiles, reaching for the phone. No…Charlene leans against the granite countertops (pretty upscale for an apartment) wishing she could cry, to relieve the pain of never, ever asking, never opening her mouth to say something. Willa's hugging her now, not a big surprise, but it's strangely comforting, feeling the silky material of her shirt against her burning flesh. "Why can't I?"

"It's just hard…someday though, things will get better."

0o0

Finn Whitman runs away from home at the age of seventeen, drops high school like it's a burning coal, and marries Amanda Lockhart at two in the morning, with only a sleepy priest and a cheering Jez as their witnesses. What drove him to ask? What drove him to accept? Finn isn't really sure, he only knows that Amanda skipped most of the traditional cake and rings and guests and reception and bridal march, and went right on to the kiss. Aren't wedding kisses supposed to be lovely, magical, even for a boy? Why does this kiss taste slightly like a mistake?

By the time they get a house (and jobs down at the local bookstore) marriage is becoming frayed, worse then a shoestring without an aglet, and twice as irritating. Finn knows that he married Amanda, but he has to wonder if it was real love, a real commitment, or if it was simply sex, school-dropouts, and short weddings.

"You can't pay a damn mortgage payment on time?" she demands one night, voice strained, as Finn sits at the dining room table, wondering why the priest skipped the "speak now or forever hold your piece" part of the wedding vows. Amanda then sits across from him, massaging her temples, shaking her head slowly, almost imperceptibly, looking up with her exotic-looking eyes. "This isn't going to work," she whispers, before slowly walking into their bedroom, shutting the door.

Finn sits at the table, looking over at the phone resting on the buffet, thinking of the phone number, that he can recite forward and backwards, tapping the number on the top of the table. He could always call her, for a word of comfort (he's actually calling her for comfort about love?) or even to see where she is, what she's doing, if she even remembers him.

Finn hears Amanda from the kitchen, crying softly, but severely, the kind of gasping, uneven kind that makes his own chest ache at the very sound of it. He stands up, looking over at the phone, before shaking his head, walking towards the bedroom, just thinking, about how screwed up he made his life.

(If she calls, he'll have to let it ring.)

0o0

Maybeck has grown at least another foot taller, so that he looks like a pro-basketball player, but the only thing he does related to basketball is watch it on TV, whenever he invites Jez over. Sometimes, Maybeck wonders if he and Jez will ever become _something, _until she "accidentally" spills her Coke on the sport's section, just to piss him off. She's a friend, a good friend, but what is he supposed to say about her? ("Hey, you're awesome, but I could never love you.")

It's been three years since he's talked to Charlene. It's been two days since he's talked to Willa and Philby, nine since he's called Finn, and Jez is sitting beside him, asleep, her mouth slightly agape. Maybeck can't believe he hasn't called Charlene-he knows her number, everyone knows-to see what she's been up to after all these years. He picks up the phone, he's going to do it-

"Maybeck-"

He hesitates with his finger hesitating over the "talk" button, swallowing, glancing over at the half-awake girl beside him, licking yellow pizza grease from her own fingers. "Have you ever thought about her?" Maybeck asked seriously, watching as Jez diverts her eyes, leaning back, taking a deep breath.

"A lot."

0o0

Charlene arrives on his doorstep, drenched in rain, but the wetness of her bright blue eyes aren't from the falling precipitation, they're from tears. Finn stands there, one hand on the door, unable to breathe, as he stares at her ghostly form, the pale face, the light blond hair that seems to glow in the darkness. _He used to think it glimmered like streaks of sunlight._

"Char-"

"I couldn't take it," she whispered, shivering from the chill and from the thought he might kick her out, send her back to the taxi cab waiting on the road, honking. Finn waves it off, much to her hope, as Charlene swallows, hoping that Amanda won't come behind him, perfect Amanda, who got Finn brain-washed into leaving it all behind. "All the times I tried to call…"

"No," he interrupts, taking her hand, the hand that she knows by heart, with a too-long life line, and a too-short love line, and a freckle on her pinky, and little crescent moons on the nails. "I should've called," Finn murmurs, as Charlene takes a tentative step forward, looking like she's floating over the floor, looking on with blossoming, but still, fearful hope.

And before either knows what's happening, they're on top of each other in the entryway, and Charlene doesn't know if she leapt forwards first, or if he did, but all Finn knows is that this kiss doesn't burn, it tastes like strawberries, only better, fresher, more amazing, the fireworks he's been missing.

Amanda Lockhart steps onto the front porch, opens the door, only to see her husband ten minutes away from making love with Charlene Turner in the hallway, a puddle of rain forming around them. She drops her purse, she stares at Finn Whitman, she opens her mouth to say something, and she turns around. "Finn." Amanda's voice sounds hollow and distant, as he looks up, remembering all of the things he left behind to elope.

"This is-"

"I'm going," she announces, grabbing her purse, and running out into the rain without an umbrella, as Charlene looks back, biting her thumb nail, waiting for Finn to run after her, leave her behind in a soaking mess of rain and tears and erased messages.

He doesn't follow her.

0o0

"She's with Finn," Amanda announces, as Maybeck looks from the bowl of popcorn he's sharing with Jez, who is trying to pay attention to the MTV interview online. When she sees their quizzical expressions, Amanda takes a shaky breath, sinking down to the sofa, putting her head in her hands. "Finn and Charlene are…something."

"What?" Jez finally asks, after a few minutes of awkward silence and the top 10 hits, as she licks the butter from her fingers, concerned on the inside about her sister. Amanda shakes her head, running her fingers over her knees, just silent, until she stands, throwing her hands in the air.

"It's all falling apart," Amanda says, stalking out of their living room, leaving Maybeck alone with Jez, who is only squinting at the place Amanda had been sitting, before sighing. Maybeck doesn't know why Jez hasn't left his couch, why she comes over everyday, why she suffers the city bus to come see him.

Jez kisses him that afternoon. It's amazing, and sudden, and vivid, and colorful, and delicate, and beautiful, and strong, and surprising, and he knows that beneath the fresh coat of Dr. Pepper lip gloss, he can taste popcorn butter. But, even though he can describe it, Maybeck doesn't know if kissing Jez is the right decision. _But maybe it is._

0o0

They make love _hard. _(Once, twice, three times.)

For Philby, it's more then a young couple's heat, on vodka-stained sheets, in the dark, with some kind of lover's song playing, it's a beautiful rhythm that comes to the rate of the world spinning. So painful, so amazing, like a butterfly's venom: there's pain, but it's beautiful, addicting, something you desire again and again. Willa's flesh is so delicate against his, her heartbeat like the flapping of hummingbird wings, because their hearts beat together.

"Is this where we belong?" she sighs with pleasure, their legs tangled up beneath the sheets, kisses exchanged between mouths and cheeks and collarbones. Her hair is tickling his nose, as he wraps his arms around her thin body, trying to breathe steadily against the rhythm of their happiness.

"Yes," Philby whispers, before letting his lips graze against hers, different from some of their other kisses, this is more delicate, more like cherry blossoms, butterfly wings, porcelain plates, china cups, firefly lights, dreams that they've finally recovered.

0o0

Her fingers are intertwined with his, as they walk down the aisle, and her love line seems to be a lot longer, perhaps even longer then her life line, which she hopes is the case. He smiles, because he knows this is the right decision, as Finn brings Charlene's hands closer to his heart, watching her delicate eyelashes flutter, the white roses making her face almost paler in comparison, blond hair gleaming in the light. Another couple joins them at the end of the aisle, this time Maybeck and Jez, who aren't dressed as formerly, but they look just as happy, maybe happier, since they aren't getting married for the second time.

Willa and Philby sit in the first pew, with his arm pulled safely around her, his other rubbing her abdomen, where a little miracle is growing, much to everyone's shock. When the priest reads the wedding vows, Finn listens to each word now, keeping Charlene's hands in his own, just in case she were to fly away. "I do." _He means it this time._

"You may kiss the bride."

Seconds, minutes, hours pass when real kisses are exchanged, and the church explodes into applause, that isn't very formal, or planned, just clapping and cheering for four people who really love each other…

All except one girl in the back, who stares with exotic eyes, and tries to remember why she asked Finn to marry him, and raises her hand to object, only to lower it, tears in her eyes, and wonders if Jez or Finn will ever call her about what happened that year.

[If it rings, she's not going to pick it up.]

**I didn't really love the way this turned out, and I hope everyone will give their honest opinion in a review, because this took me (looks at clock) two and a half hours to write, and I have to go to Columbia tomorrow. Oh, well…good night everyone, leave a review!**


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